Thankyou Amanda for bringing this to our attention- I am alarmed I had never heard of this before- although, sadly, not surprised reflecting on it.
Many people from Japan are shocked to discover some of the attrocities their country had committed in World War 2- having never even heard of it before; and considering, in our unique case- the extreme defensiveness and hostility shared by our own countrymen towards our history (particularly for Aboriginal relations), I can possibly understand why.

To your suggestion that this case be re-opened, I would consider a fair demand; had this been a European country the courts would have done this long ago on principle for reconciliation; we on the other hand seem so riddled with anger and guilt we cannot bring ourselves to simply do the right thing regardless.

Also Joe, the answer to the "speaking of the dead" issue in question would apply only to a few Indigenous cultures (remember that there are 400+ Aboriginal nations with completely different religions and cultures);
The warning advice would only apply to them- but to merely state "aboriginal" is to the benefit of the audience who would likely not understand who the target audience actually is.

Lovely article - beautifully written and very timely publication date.

The Coniston Massacre is notable in that it is a relatively well-known and documented instance of atrocities against Aboriginal people, yet - as Amanda Midlam so eloquently expresses - it scarcely registers in the popular National memory. There are many other well-documented examples, including the Bluff Rock Massacre closer to where I now live, they Myall Creek and Hornet Bank Massacres, the "Leap" north of Mackay, the Bloomfield Massacre just north of there etc etc.

The recency of the Coniston Massacre is not all that exceptional, although its documentation is. I lived for 20 years or so in North Queensland, and heard various stories from both sides about "black shoots" in the Burdekin in the 1930s. As a former anthropologist, I've found that memories of such practices aren't very hard to uncover in just about any part of rural and regional Australia of you care to dig a bit. You won't find too many official records, but talk to some of the old-timers and their offspring and you can discover all sorts of cultural memories. Revisionist history warriors like Windschuttle would conveniently discount such evidence, of course.

I think that Windschuttle quite deliberately set out to obscure the truly murderous history of Aboriginal-Settler relations in this country, which is of course the root cause of contemporary Aboriginal disadvantage. As I said at the time of Rudd's belated Apology to the Stolen Generations, the Apology was insufficient and should have extended to the near-destruction of Indigenous societies and cultures, and the expropriation of Indigenous land and resources.

AMANDA thankyou for reminding us of the utter dismal failure of MultiCulturalism.

The issues surrounding the lead up and action of this massacre show with crystal clarity how 'difference' leads to misunderstanding, prejudgement, irrational actions and outright brutality.

This has always been the problem with 'difference' of race and tribe and color, and it always will be.

So...I am looking forward to your next piece which scuttles MultiCulturalism completely.

Thankyou for your support.

hi ALGOREisRICH, the problem is an imbalance of male power not multiculturalism. Achieve equality between women and men with governance conducted by agreement between women's and men's legislatures, courts and corporate committees and equality is achieved between demographics comprised of women and men.

It truly is heartwarming to see some people swoop on criminal tragedies to push their separate agendas.

King Hazza, not nearly as heartwarming as swooping on the cause and prevention of tragedy.